Obama’s Budget Worsens Debt Problem, but The Heritage Plan Solves It

Everyone wants to know more about the budget and here is some key information with a chart from the Heritage Foundation and a video from the Cato Institute.

Spending in the President’s budget proposal for 2012 would drive the debt to 87 percent of the economy by 2021. In contrast, Saving the American Dream: The Heritage Plan to Fix the Debt, Cut Spending, and Restore Prosperity solves the debt problem through strong budget reforms, lowering debt to 58 percent of GDP in just 10 years.

DEBT AS A PERCENTAGE OF GDP

Source: President’s Budget: Congressional Budget Office and White House Office of Management and Budget; Heritage Plan: Calculations by the Center for Data Analysis based on current projections, data provided by the Peter G. Peterson Foundation, and CDA policy models.

In Depth

• Policy Papers for Researchers

  • BACKGROUNDER ON MARCH 09, 2011Obama’s 2012 Budget Offers More Gimmicks, Not Reform
  • SPECIAL REPORT ON MAY 10, 2011Saving the American Dream: The Heritage Plan to Fix the Debt, Cut Spending, and Restore Prosperity

• Technical Notes

  The charts in this book are based primarily on data available as of March 2011 from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and the Congressional Budget Office (CBO). The charts using OMB data display the historical growth of the federal government to 2010 while the charts using CBO data display both historical and projected growth from as early as 1940 to 2084. Projections based on OMB data are taken from the White House Fiscal Year 2012 budget. The charts provide data on an annual basis except… Read More

• Authors

  Emily GoffResearch Assistant
  Thomas A. Roe Institute for Economic Policy StudiesKathryn NixPolicy Analyst
  Center for Health Policy StudiesJohn FlemingSenior Data Graphics Editor